Mahalo to Hawaii Island resident and amazing photographer, James Grenz for sharing this beautiful hibiscus photo with us for Aloha Friday Photos. The bold red bloom against the green backdrop make this tropical flower look so Christmasy.

– Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. We can’t fully comprehend the tragedy and incredible bravery on that fateful morning of December 7, 1941. With much interest, we’ve been reading and watching the stories of the brave survivors who are returning for the 75th anniversary commemoration today. These are some of the stories of heroes that have caught our eye:

The story of Mr. Robert Coles who jumped into action to man guns that he’d never been trained to operate.

We know many readers have been anxiously awaiting our annual lists of special events and dining for Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Waikiki. We’re pleased to announce that both pages are now fully updated! Use the following links to access the newly released pages:

Mahalo to Tom Sakiyama for sharing this excellent bird’s-eye view of the USS Arizona Memorial. Tom took this photo while taking a Seaplane Tour.

This December 7th marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and several special events are scheduled to commemorate the day. Note that some of the special Pearl Harbor Day events will have live, online viewing available. A couple of those to note are:

One of the top things to do on a Maui vacation is to watch the sunrise over a volcanic crater from 10,000 feet elevation. Apparently, this activity has become a little too popular with more people (and cars) visiting than available parking spaces. Per officials at Haleakala National Park,

Mahalo to Joan Buhs for sharing this pretty Opeakaa waterfall photo with us for Aloha Friday Photos. This waterfall is on the east side of Kauai in the Wailua River Valley. Opeakaa Falls easy to see as there’s no hike necessary to view this lacy waterfall that Joan described as “magical.”

Mahalo to Helen Loutas for sharing this beautiful photo from Waikiki with us for Aloha Friday Photos. As Helen shared this photo she said, “Ahhhh, the serenity.” Though Waikiki Beach is known for being a bit more energetic that most Hawaiian beaches, it’s not difficult to find peaceful scenes like this one that Helen captured.

With architecture that honors the former sugar cane plantation days the Villas at Poipu Kai offer a great sense of place. These villas are beautifully appointed inside with Tommy Bahama-style decor,... read the full article »